MTV continued the music world’s yearlong tribute to hip-hop at the Video Music Awards on Tuesday night.
Nicki Minaj, who also served as the night’s emcee, joined Lil Wayne, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and LL Cool J for a performance celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary that closed out the awards show just before Taylor Swift won video of the year. They performed a medley of hits at the VMAs, which aired live from New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
Early on in the performance, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five delivered “The Message,” which is recognized as one of the first hip-hop songs to center around social commentary, specifically poverty in the inner city.
Fresh, known as the “Human Beatbox,” is credited for his beatboxing techniques, which he took to the stage to perform.
Minaj then hit the stage in a red body suit, black boots and sunglasses to perform her own “Itty Bitty Piggy” and “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.” She was joined by backup dancers in white tops and silver pants.
Lil Wayne later appeared in a black-hooded jacket for “A Milli,” followed by LL Cool J in a sparkly suit with “Mama Said Knock You Out.”
The latter then introduced DMC as someone who “knocked down the walls for all of us.” The two performed RUN-DMC and Aerosmith’s groundbreaking hit, “Walk This Way.” The rest of the performers then joined them onstage to close out the song and the performance.
For DMC, this marked his return to the VMAs stage for the first time in more than 35 years after Run-DMC’s performance of “Walk This Way” alongside Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Steven Tyler in 1987.
In the audience, Swift was seen taking part in the call and response of “Hey….ho….” and dancing and waving her arms along to “Walk This Way.”
The VMAs joins other awards shows, including the Grammys and the BET Awards, that have paid tribute to hip-hop this year.
Minaj, who was up for six VMAs this year and won best R&B for “Super Freaky Girl,” also performed the world premiere of her newest single, “Last Time I Saw You,” on Tuesday.
Lil Wayne, a five-time Grammy winner, also hit the VMA stage to perform his new single, “Kat Food,” live for the first time.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five made their VMA debut Tuesday night.
LL Cool J, MTV’s Video Vanguard Award recipient in 1997, returned to the stage to perform for the first time in more than 25 years after serving as one of the show’s emcees last year alongside Minaj.
